1. Field
This application relates to a fuselage section of an aircraft, in particular a hollow cylinder-shaped or barrel-shaped, stringerless and ribless fuselage section of an aircraft, and to a method of producing the fuselage section from fiber composite materials.
2. Brief Discussion of Related Art
It is generally known that a fuselage of an aircraft can be produced by joining a plurality of pre-manufactured fuselage sections. Fuselage sections of this type typically comprise an outer skin and stiffening elements that are connected to the inner surface of the outer skin. The structural stability required of a fuselage section is achieved through the interaction of the composite structure of outer skin and stiffening elements. The stiffening elements traditionally used are “stringers” and “ribs”. Stringers are reinforcement elements which are oriented along a longitudinal axis of the aircraft and which serve to increase the flexural stiffness of the fuselage section. Ribs are reinforcement elements which are oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and which serve to increase the torsional stiffness of the fuselage section. Therefore, since the outer skin also contributes to the structural stiffness, it must have a certain thickness.
Traditionally, fuselage sections are made of light metal, such as aluminum, or light metal alloys. The manufacturing methods used and thus the fuselage sections ultimately produced are based on the known methods of production used in metalworking.
Since the stiffening elements are traditionally disposed almost exclusively on the inner surface of the outer skin and, depending on the construction, typically have a depth of 5-25 cm, these elements require considerable installation space and ultimately reduce the usable cabin diameter inside the fuselage section.
The use of composite materials in the production of aircraft components, for example, fuselage sections, entails significant and generally known advantages over the materials and manufacturing methods previously used in the construction of aircraft.
Thus, US 2007/0095982 A1 discloses a barrel-shaped stringerless fuselage section of an aircraft (a so-called “single piece fuselage barrel”) and a method of producing it from fiber composite materials. In a first step of the method disclosed therein, a cylinder-shaped construction molded body is used. The construction molded body has a longitudinal axis and a surface which has depressions (recesses). The depressions are oriented in particular perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and designed so as to run circumferentially around the construction molded body. In a second step, resin-impregnated first fibers are incorporated into the depressions. In the course of the production process, these fibers form a stiffening structure. In a third step, second fibers are applied to the surface of the construction molded body and to the depressions filled with the first fibers, which second fibers form an outer skin of the fuselage section, with the first fibers being applied in a fiber orientation different from the fiber orientation or orientations in which the second fibers are applied. In a fourth step, all of the integrated fibers are joined to one another by means of a curing process. Finally, the construction mold body is separated from the cured fuselage section. The disadvantage of this method is that the fuselage section produced still has stiffening structures that project into the inside volume of the fuselage section.